The Tree by the Lake
by Chaser921
Summary: Harry and Ginny often spend time relaxing under the tree by the lake. So did their parents, and both couples leave their mark on the tree. The tree remembers.


9

It was late May, and though the times were dark and dangerous, the seasons and the earth remained much as they had always been. A soft, warm breeze blew across the Hogwarts grounds. It flattened the grass, fluttered the leaves of the Whomping Willow, and ruffled the hair of the students who had snuck outside for a bit of sunshine. It flowed up from the south, then turned and blew along the shores of the lake, rustling the branches of one of the great trees that grew along the shore.

_Spring…_

The tree by the lake stretched its branches imperceptibly towards the sun, its new leaves unfurling eagerly. It smiled quietly to itself at their zeal, reminding itself how old it was.

It had been planted beside the Hogwarts lake decades, perhaps even centuries ago. It had been there so long that even its beginnings had become hazy; all its springs, summers, autumns, and winters ran into one another in a string of long, quiet years. Except for these more recent ones. The past twenty years stood out in the tree's memory, for the world had darkened and become cold, and it worried at times for its students. But not today. Today was a day like those before the darkness: bright and warm and full of promise.

Though the tree could barely recall its own beginnings, it remembered many of the humans that sheltered beneath its branches. Like butterflies, bright and temporary, they fluttered around it, giving it a sense of contentment and the rightness of the world.

There had always been students at Hogwarts, and there always would be. Some returned over the years as teachers, or sent their children after they left. The tree remembered one couple that gave it particular happiness, as they had personally left their mark on it, as had their son. The tree smiled to itself as its mind drifted back, to happier times…

The first time the tree had encountered the pair they had been arguing furiously, about what exactly, it still wasn't sure. But it was clear that they were _not_ fond of one another.

"James Potter, you and your friends are a public menace! You're arrogant, immature, and totally self-absorbed! If I catch you or your friends planning one more prank, I swear, I'll – "

"You'll what? Get us expelled? I've got news for you, only the headmaster can do that, and he doesn't seem inclined to!"

The tree started at the loud voices that sounded directly underneath it, though to the students standing beneath it, it seemed as though its branches simply rustled in a sudden breeze. They belonged to a girl and a boy, both shouting at the top of their lungs. It peered down through its branches, curiosity piqued, and saw a head of dark red hair confronting another covered in messy black strands. As it watched, the redhead moved away quickly, and the tree saw that it was a young female human, a girl. The black head followed, and as it drew away, the tree saw that it belonged to a boy that seemed to be the same age as the girl. Long years of observing students had taught it that James was a male name for humans, so the boy must be the James that the girl had been yelling at.

"Aw, Evans, come on!" The tree heard the boy plead before the pair of them got too far away for it to understand.

The tree shook its topmost branches, much as a human would shake its head. Saplings!

Over time, however, as the tree watched, the two students became friends, perhaps even _best_ friends. And then, one day, as spring slipped into summer, the two met beneath its branches and shared a kiss.

The tree peered down in curiosity, for this was something it had never experienced for itself. It had never touched another tree before, and this was one of the few things it envied the humans. They seemed to put so much into that kiss, and melted together as if they were becoming one being.

They split apart eventually, and walked back up to the castle before going their separate ways.

But then, the boy came back. The tree felt him scurrying up its trunk and into its branches like a squirrel. He moved lightly, and the tree easily bore his weight as he moved higher. Finally, the boy reached a point midway up its trunk and settled there. The tree craned its branches towards him to see what he was doing, but before it could tell, it felt a sweet, sharp pain in the skin of one of its branches.

It shuddered. The boy was carving something into its flesh, but it wasn't something shallow and meaningless. The boy was carving his love for the girl into the tree, so that even long after they'd left, it would remain.

A few days later, the tree felt two light figures scrambling up it, and smiled to itself. It seemed that James was bringing Lily to see his handiwork, to show her what they would leave behind.

Soon after that, the young couple left Hogwarts, and the tree did not see them again. But he saw their son, and the girl he courted was much like his mother. In fact, the two children were so much like the preceding couple that the tree had to distinguish them by the subtle differences in their appearances, or it would start to think of them as Lily and James. The girl's hair was a brighter, more fire-like red, and freckles dusted her face and arms, while the boy's eyes had become a vivid green, and he'd acquired a scar on his forehead. The tree looked on with pleasure as it watched them grow, like their parents, into young trees, young adults.

It watched as they became friends, then _best_ friends, and then lovers. And one day, they returned together to shelter beneath its branches as James and Lily had so many years before.

Once again, the tree felt a small, light figure scurry up its trunk, and smiled, guiding the girl gently to the place James had marked his love for Lily, nineteen years before.

"Harry! Harry, look at this!" the girl called. His face turned up and stared up at her through the branches. The tree moved them aside so the boy could see, though to Harry, it seemed like the wind had simply moved them apart.

"What is it, Ginny?" he yelled back, stepping to the trunk and placing a hand on it, his whole body poised to begin climbing up to her. She beckoned to him.

"Come see!"

He was beside her in a trice, helped along by the tree as its branches thrust themselves into his hands and made steps for his feet as they had for the girl's.

"What is it?" He repeated, this time in a quieter voice. She did not answer, but took his hand and placed it on one of the smaller limbs protruding from the one they straddled.

The initials JP + LE was carved there, surrounded by a crooked heart. Harry smiled.

"My parents," he whispered, and looked at Ginny. "They were here." She smiled back at him.

"And so are we," she whispered back.

He grinned and leaned towards her, one hand cupping the back of her head while the other gripped the branch. The tree hummed in anticipation as he pulled her closer to him, and shivered happily when their lips touched. As close as they were, it could feel the heat dancing in the air around them.

They kissed for several minutes, then broke apart reluctantly to scamper back down its trunk to return to the castle. But the tree knew that the boy, like before, would return later…and he did.

A few days later, Harry snuck down to the tree and stealthily climbed its branches to place his marks beside the ones his father had carved into the tree. Now the tree was doubly marked, and it felt the strength of the love in those marks radiating into its depths.

The following year only one of the two returned to the tree, and she was sad, and somehow diminished by the absence of the boy. The tree wondered where he had gone, and worried for him as the world around it grew dark and grim. As the seasons finally began to turn, the girl disappeared too, and the tree found itself more awake and alert than ever before as the students that sheltered beneath it grew fewer and evil began creeping slowly along the skirts of the forest and the shores of the lake. The young trees by the lake grew frightened, and looked to the old tree for comfort, but it could not give any. It too, was worried about the future of Hogwarts and its students.

The tree shook itself out of its memories and back into the present as the light in the sky grew dim. It was dusk, nearly night, and as the sky deepened slowly from blue to black, the feeling of unease that had been building for months reached its peak and became fear. Dark wizards passed like ghosts through the forest, bringing with them an army of giants, werewolves, and vampires. The woods shuddered as the evil beings walked beneath their branches, and tried to prevent their passage, but to no avail.

The army of darkness carried lanterns and torches to light their way, and as they drew nearer to the castle they began setting the trees alight to dishearten their enemies. The flames licked at the old forest, slowly gaining ground against the trees. Eventually the fire made its way to the lake, where it crept along the shore until everything was burning, even the great tree that had sheltered so many students.

As smoke and fire began to engulf the tree, it saw a group of vampires flee the flaming forest and follow a pale-faced wizard along the lakeshore towards the castle. They stopped beneath the tree, eyes glistening like rubies as they turned hungry faces towards their guide.

"We are weak from our journey. We must eat," a vampire said in a low voice. The wizard jumped and backed towards the trunk of the tree, perhaps thinking that the flames would keep the vampires away. But they kept coming.

"We need to regain our strength for the fight. We must eat," another vampire said in a slightly louder voice, and the group began murmuring as they stalked closer to their victim. The wizard was crouched on the ground next to the tree now, whimpering.

"Be glad you can give us strength," sneered a third vampire, firelight dancing over it's vicious features. "Your sacrifice will help us serve your lord, and we will drain the life from the _children_who defy him in the castle."

The third vampire's words pierced the veil of pain that was shrouding the tree, and it roused itself furiously as it realized that these creatures threatened its charges. It vowed to itself that it would prevent them from reaching the children, even if it too was destroyed in the process.

The tree began rocking itself, and the ground began crumbling around its roots. Its trunk creaked ominously, and its branches began to stir in a nonexistent wind. The vampires on the ground glanced up at it for a moment, but were so focused on their prey that they didn't spare much attention for the tree.

That was their mistake.

The tree drew strength from the earth beneath it, and gathered itself for one last, mighty effort as its vision began to dim from the fire. It rocked faster now, afraid that its burns would keep it from destroying the creatures.

A great wind seemed to whistle angrily about the tree, and it towered above the vampires as they began attacking the Death Eater. Light from the fire creeping up the tree illuminated their bloody faces, and made the tree even more determined to stop them. They were the last things it saw as it ripped itself out of the earth and fell, impaling them with its branches and pinning them beneath it where they too, burned.

As the air around it echoed with the cries of the vampires, the tree's mind drifted back to thoughts of its students, glad to give its life to protect them. It smiled one last time, suddenly weary, and it welcomed the rest of death as blackness closed around it, and the screams in the air faded into silence.

The morning after the battle, Harry Potter woke in his dormitory with a start and grabbed his wand. He groped around frantically for his glasses and shoved them on his face, kicking aside his blankets…and then relaxed, his fingers loosening around his wand. It was over. He was free. Free to do whatever he wanted with the rest of his life. He smiled and swung his legs over the side of his bed.

Free to be with Ginny.

He hurriedly pulled on clothes and ran down to the Great Hall. His hand automatically grabbed a piece of toast while his eyes searched for Ginny…and there she was at the Ravenclaw table, chatting with Luna. He walked over to her, chewing absently on a bite of toast, barely swallowing before she looked up at him and smiled.

"Hello, Harry," she said in a low voice. He smiled nervously, uncertain of what to say to her now that he was here. Finally, he blurted, "Erm…do you think we might, erm, take a walk or something?"

She nodded, apparently amused by his discomfort, and asked, "Where did you want to go?"

He shrugged.

"Nowhere in particular."

"What about the lake, then?" 

He nodded his agreement and she rose to her feet, murmuring explanations to Luna, who nodded solemnly and smiled dreamily at Harry. He waved at her as he and Ginny exited the Great Hall.

They held hands as they walked in relative silence to the lake, content to simply be with each other. He'd never really had to say much to Ginny; she understood him, and his moods.

It was a lovely day, bright and warm. In fact, it was getting hot enough that Harry shrugged out of his jacket and slung it over one arm as they approached the lakeshore, heading for their favorite tree. Only last year they had discovered his parents' initials carved into the tree, and Harry smiled at the memory of that day. He had carved his and Ginny's initials next to his parents, but he had never gotten the chance to show them to Ginny. Soon after he'd carved them had come the last summons from Dumbledore, and the tree and its markings had slipped his mind.

But that was all right. He could show her today. The tree was a part of Hogwarts, and it, like the castle, would always be there.

His musings were interrupted by a cry of alarm from Ginny, and he looked up worriedly as she pulled her hand out of his and began running towards the shore. Blood pounded in his ears as he fumbled in his pocket for his wand, scanning the shore for stray Death Eaters.

But he didn't see anyone. All he saw was a burned and blackened tree fallen on the shore, half its branches submerged in murky water. Bits of leaves and twigs scattered the ground around it, and several boughs had snapped off completely and were lying about like amputated limbs. A huge crater gaped where its roots had pulled free, and patches of dried blood dotted its trunk and the ground around it.

And then he realized…it was _their_ tree, his parents' tree. He began running too, a sick feeling rising in his throat as he reached its trunk.

He stopped abruptly beside Ginny, who was kneeling beside the tree, the fingertips of one hand just brushing its bark. Bits of charcoal crumbled away from the wood under her fingers, and she drew back her blackened hand.

"Such pointless destruction!" she said in a low, angry voice as she clenched her hand into a fist. "It was just a tree, they had no reason to – to uproot it like that! It's not even close to the castle!"

And then all of the anger seemed to flow out of her as she rose and dusted off her knees. Harry laid a hand on her shoulder, and they stood there without talking, until Harry broke the silence.

"What do you think the blood's from? I mean, I don't see any bodies…"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know…I suppose we can look on the other side."

They wandered around to the other side of the tree, and Ginny gasped. A blackened arm protruded from under the tree, a Dark Mark clearly visible on its pale underside. They both pulled out their wands, just in case, though the arm wasn't moving. Harry was the first to approach it, and he prodded it with his wand. It remained still.

"I think they're dead…whoever they were," he said over his shoulder to Ginny. She moved to stand behind him and peered down at the arm.

"It…it looks like the tree just fell…but why didn't they get out of the way?" she said slowly, and shook her head. "It doesn't make sense." Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a spell or something." He sighed, and suddenly felt very tired, as if all the weight he'd felt fall of his shoulders this morning had suddenly crashed down on him again.

"Everything's changed," he said softly. "Even this."

Ginny nodded and wrapped an arm around his waist. He turned and buried his face in her hair as he pulled her close, inhaling the familiar, flowery scent. This, at least, would not change. This was his.

He raised his head and looked at the tree again, his eyes scanning its length and lingering on the branches that littered the ground around it.

"It's, funny," Ginny said softly. "It doesn't seem like it should be so upsetting, you know? I mean, it's just a tree. But it was something that was always there. Even when I'd had the worst day, I could come out here and sit under it or climb it, and everything would seem a little better. And then we found your father's marks…" Her voice trailed off, and she sighed.

Harry nodded his silent agreement to her words, and took her hand. He pulled her a few steps closer to one of the branches lying beside the tree. He thought he had seen markings on it, familiar markings that had been carved into the wood. He knelt beside the branch and turned it so that the markings were clearly visible, and smiled.

"Look," he whispered. "It's still here. The fire didn't get to it."

Ginny knelt beside him and trailed her fingertips along the carvings. Her lips curved into a smile as she turned her head to face him.

"There's that silver lining," she whispered back, and kissed him lightly on the corner of his mouth.


End file.
